Requirements for becoming a bouncer at an Ohio bar may soon include more than a muscular physique and being able to toss a person 15 feet if newly introduced legislation is enacted.
State Sen. David Goodman, R-Bexley, introduced a bill into the Ohio Senate that would require all bouncers, doormen and other security personnel at establishments serving alcohol to receive training in mediation techniques.
The proposal, Senate Bill 209, is a direct response to the Dec. 2 death of a patron after an altercation with a bouncer at Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Grill on Hutchinson Avenue.
Vincent Darling, 41, died of neck trauma after a physical confrontation with a bouncer. Darling’s blood-alcohol content was 0.27 percent, well over twice the legal limit for driving in Ohio.
Columbus police have not filed any charges in response to Darling’s death.
“Vincent’s unfortunate death is not a singular occurrence,” Goodman said. “Patrons elsewhere have died from asphyxiation or have been injured by a choke hold.
“This measure would provide guidelines for establishments to ensure its patrons are protected reasonably well.”
Owners and managers of campus bars seem to agree the additional training in mediation would be beneficial for both the bouncers and the customers.
“I think it is a really good idea,” said Tarsa Favata, manager of Buffalo Wild Wings, 7 E. Woodruff Ave. “You can’t just hire someone off the street for the job, they have to have a certain mentality to be able to perform the job effectively.”
Roma Painter, owner of Bernie’s/The Distillery, 1896 N. High St., said although her doormen rarely encounter unruly behavior from customers, she sees the need for mediation training because of past problems with physical force being abused at other bars.
At least two campus bouncers share the sentiment that the bill is a good idea.
“I’d be up for a class,” said John Alley, a bouncer at The Roxy, 2159 N. High St. “It would be beneficial because there are some bouncers that don’t really know what they’re doing and are basically just there to push people around.”
Alley, a student at Columbus State Community College, said he rarely encounters any problems at The Roxy, and on the rare occasion there is a fight of any nature, physical force is rarely necessary.
“Most college guys tend to get intimidated if they are simply told to stop by a bouncer,” Alley said.
Joe French, also a bouncer at The Roxy, agreed a class in mediation wouldn’t hurt.
“I’d be interested in learning different techniques and what to do in different situations,” said French, a junior in education at OSU.
Goodman said most bouncers he has spoken to want more procedural guidelines and support the bill.
There is no Ohio law that specifically addresses bouncers and doormen at all.
“We cannot expect bouncers to act appropriately when we have not provided them with the tools to do so,” Goodman said.
Most establishments do, however, already provide some form of training for their security personnel.
“We go through our own tailored training process,” said Mike Simbro, owner of The Roxy. “We provide manuals for our doormen and focus on processes on dealing with customers that have proven to be effective.”
Andrew Herf, vice-president of legislative affairs for the Wholesale Beer and Wine Association of Ohio, said he supports the bill and would like to see it extended to servers as well.
“Training could increase the revenue for businesses because when employees are properly trained, there will be fewer citations for sales to underage customers,” Herf said. “Proper training can also minimize server and establishment liability in a lawsuit.”
Herf said there is training available online for techniques in alcohol management for all servers and doormen at the Ohio Licensed Beverage Association Web site.
A committee will be looking into exactly who would be paying for the mediation program, Goodman said.
The law would be under the jurisdiction of the Liquor Control Commission. The commission would be responsible for determining the composition of the training as well.
